Interlocking stretcher joint in furniture



July 7, 1931. H. J. MURDOK 1,813,072

INTERLOCKING STRETCHER JOINT IN FURNITURE Filed June 22. 1929 HENRY NuRwcK ZWfiiu Patented July 7, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE INTER/LOCKING STRETCHER JOINT IN FURNITURE Application filed June 22,

This invention relates to a new and useful improvement in chairs and other articles of furniture, in which means are provided for securing the rounds or stretchers in the chair post without the use of any glue or other adhesive in'such a manner that they Wlll remain permanently in position without allowing the chair to become loose at the oints.

An object of my invention is to prov de an improved process for forming the joint members of chairs and other wooden articles in such a manner as to make a permanent joint.

Heretofore in manufacturing chairs and 1.3 other articles of wooden furniture it has been necessary to have the wood of both the leg or post and the rounds in a perfectly dry condition, but in my invention it is better to have the post or legs of the chair in a half-seasoned condition, so that when the rounds are driven into the chair that the post will conform to the rounds and in drying in such position will make a permanent joint.

Another object of my invention is to provide a chair or other articles of furniture in which the rounds and posts are secured together without the use of glue in a permanent manner by means of having the rounds interlocked with each other and to be gripped by as the post at the point where the rounds penetrate the post.

Some of the objects of my invention having been stated other objects will appear as the description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings,

in which Figure 1 is a perspective View of a chair with which my method of construction 1s adapted to be used;

Figure 2 is an enlarged detail view looking from the front of the left hand front chair post in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view looking from along the line 3-3 in Figure 2 which is looking from the left hand side of the front chair post;

Figure 4 is a view ofone of the rounds which extend between the front posts or between the back posts;

Figure 5 is a view of one of the rounds 5% which extend between one front post and 1929. Serial No. 372,958.

one back post after the same has been installed;

Figure 6 is a top plan view of Figure 4;

Figure 7 is a cross-sectional View taken along the line 7-7 in Figure 2.

Referring more particularly to the drawings the numeral 10 indicates one of the front posts of a chair while the numeral 11 indicates the other front post, and the rear posts are indicated by the reference characters 12 and 13. The rounds extending between the two front posts are indicated by the reference character 14:, while the rounds extending between the two back posts are identical to the rounds extending between the two front posts and therefore bear the same reference characters.

The rounds which extend from the front post to the rear post are indicated by the reference character 15, all of these rounds being identical.

In the construction of a chair according to my method I first manufacture the rounds such as 15 which is shown in Figure 4t and turn the ends of the rounds in a peculiar formation by having the ends thereof smaller than the rest of theround with the sloping surface 16 and with the plurality of grooves 17 and 18 cut therein, and then I bore the hole into the two front posts 10 and 11 and drive these rounds into the post, said post being in a half-seasoned condition, so that the back pressure of the wood will fill the grooves 17 and 18 as is shown in Figures 2 and 8. After the two front posts have been put together in this manner, I then join the two rear posts '12 and 13 in the same manner and this being done, then the chair is assembled by boring the hole from the rear of the two front posts, and from the front of the two rear posts, said hole in the post penetrating the ends of the rounds 14 and cutting therefrom the arcshaped cavity 20, and then the side rounds 15 are driven into position, said side rounds also having the grooves 17 and 18 therein into which half-seasoned wood of the post will be forced toform a firm joint, and the rounds 15 penetrating the arc-shaped cavity 20 will cause an interlocking of the front and rear rounds, and this together with the back pressure of the'wood of the chair post filling the cavities 17 and 18 Will cause a permanent joint which will not Work loose after I years of use.

It is thus seen that I have provided a chairstructure, Which structure is adapted to'be used in any article of wooden furniture, which provides means for interlocking the portions of the furniture and assembling the same in'such a manner that there is a tight fit and an interlocking fit which can not'ii ork loose by use. 1 I o 7 r In thevdrawings and specification I have set forth a preferred embodiment of niyi invention, andalthough specific terms are employed they are used in a generic arid descriptive sense, and not for purposes of liinitation, the scop'eyof the invention being set forth-in the appended'clai-in's. j Iclain i Y v 7 I That process of I making Woodv joints which comprises boring; a hole in a wooden member, forming a second Wooden neemher with peripheral grooves therein, forcing the second Wooden member into the said hole,

horinganother hole in the first Wooden member transversely to the direction of the first hole,-ar d cutting While boring the "said hole an arc-shapedca vity outof the-edge of the second Wooden member and forcing into the said second hole'a third Wooden ineinloer si1nilar in constructionrto the second'wooden member. V p p ,1 2. That process of forming a Wood oint in a chair which comprises hori ri'gi'a-hole in a chair post, forming radial grooves in a round, forcing the round into the said hole in the post,boring another hole transversely 'tothe first hole and cutting-throughtlie edge portion; the already inserted round, and" forcing a second round intofthe 'sednd hole, i saidsecond "roundheiiig sin iilartothe first round." 7 Q 3. That j' roess' of making wood 'j'oints which consistin forming one member With a plurality of radial grooves therein, boring ahole in another memher, forcing the first v i V meinber into the hole the second member,-

ho'r ng a hole 'in the' second -me'niber 'trar'isyersel'y to the' 'first'ineinher in such awayas to cut an I arc-shaped cavity in the side of the already inserted 1nember,.-and then forcing a thirdinember into the said secondhole,

' 4. That process of forminga joint in a chair which comprises boring a'hole partially through a vchair post, form'ir'lggrooves-1n a round, forcin'g 'said'round'insaid hale, bor ing a secondi ho'le insaid post transversely to the; first holeih 'such'a'inanner as to'cut away I an amshap' d cavity iii-thea'lre 'ady inserted H rou d,-'a1id forcing a second round into the saidfsecond-hole; t In testimony Whereofl' "afiix 'inyfsignature.

HENRY :41. MURDOCK, 4 

